Mixed oil gas and water gas production



y Aug. 28, 1934.

` .L A. PERRY 1,971,729

MIXED OIFL GAS `AND WATER GAS PRODUCTION Filed March 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l l Aug. 28, 1934. 1 A, PERRY 1,971,729

lMIXED OIL GAS AND WATER GASy PRODUCTION Filed March 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 al @Ike a ,wvo/Mfr.

Patented Aug. l2e, 1934 MIXED. OIL GAS AND WATER GAS V PRODUCTION Joseph A. Perry, Swarthmore, Pa., assignor to The Umted Gas Improvement Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 2, 1929, Serial No. 344,072 v Claims.

The present invention relates to the production of a mixed water gas and oil gas for domestic or industrial distribution by cracking hydrocarbon fluid in an ignited fuel bed heated by periodic air 5 heating, to reformed gas of lower specific gravity and caloric power, depositing the excess carbon released by the cracking within the fuel bed, and utilizing the excess carbon unconsumed bythe air blast, in the production of water gas, by steaml0 ing the fuel bed, thereby maintaining the fuel bed free and open.

The object of the present invention is to'p'rovide an improved method of operation in the production of such mixed gas whereby the capacity of the apparatus employed is materially increased.

\ Although it is possible to utilize other apparatus, the process may be conveniently and efliciently performed in the ordinary carbureted water gas set.

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation and partial vertical cross-section of a so-called down-run or backrun carbureted water gas set in which my invention may be performed, and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation and partial vertical cross-section of acarbureted water gas set provided with a reverse steam connection and with 30 additional gas take-off, in which my invention may also be performed.

Referring to Fig. 1, 1 is the water gas generator provided with the fuel bed 2, and further provided with the air blast supply means 3, and the steam supply means 4 for up-steaming. Steam supply means 5 having valve 55 therein may be provided for down-steaming. The generator is further provided with hydrocarbon uid supply means which may be the hydrocarbon gas supply means 6 having valve 66 therein for passing the gas downward through the fuel bed and the supply means 7 having valve 77 therein for passage upward through the fuel bed. If oil is to be cracked in the' fuel bed, the oil supply means 8 having valve 88 therein may be provided. The generator is further provided with the gas off-take 9 provided with the valve 10, and leading from blow the fuel bed to place of storage. The generatr is in communication through connection 11 with the carbureter 12. The earbureter is provided with hydrocarbon fluid supply means which may be the hydrocarbon liquid supply means 13 having valvel 113 therein, or the hydrocarbon gas 55 supply means 14 having valve 114 therein` The carbureter may be further provided with the steam supplymeans 15 having valve 115 therein.

The carbureter is in communication through connection 16 with the superheater 17. The superheater may be provided with the steam supply y means 18 having valve 118 therein, for downsteaming the fuel bed. The superheater is provided With the off-take 19 provided with the valve 20 leading to the wash-box 21. 22 is the off-take from the Wash-box to place of storage. The offtake 9 from the generator may lead to placf of storage through wash-box 21 by a connectie fnot l shown, or through another wash-box. 23 is the superheater stack valve.

In operation, assuming the fuel bed of coal nr coke in the generator to be ignited, the fuel bed is blasted with air supplied at 3, the resultant air blast gases passing through the carbureter and` Superheater, Where their combustion is completed with air supplied at 24, and their heat stored in these vessels.

After suiiicient heat has been stored in the fuel bed, carbureter and superheater, the air blasting is terminated. Now a downward passage of hydrocarbon gas may be made by admitting, for instance, refinery oil gas or other high caloriflc value hydrocarbon gas such as natural gas through 6. Thisgas is cracked in the fuel bed, with the deposition therein of vits excess carbon, to reformed gas of lower caloric power and speciflc gravity which is led olf through off-take 9 to place of storage.

At the same time fluid hydrocarbons, for instance, gas oil, naphtha, gasoline, propane, or butane may be admitt'ed to the carbureter 90 through supply means 13, and vaporized therein. Some steam through supply means 15 may be smultaneously admitted to the carbureter to carry the oil vapors and protect them from overcracking with undesirable deposition of carbon in the checkerbrick. The valve 20 in the superheater olf-take is set to equalize the resistance of the fuel bed and allow the passage of the oil vapors and steam through the carbureter and superheater where the oil vapors are fixed or lightly cracked, without drawing through the carbureter and superheater the oil gas supplied to the generator top. The steam `and lightly cracked oil gas pass to the wash box and thence to place of storage. The lightly cracked oil gas from the superheater is mixed with the more completely cracked reformed gas from the generator either in the wash-box or in place of storage.

The above step may be followed by an upward passage of hydrocarbon gas through the fuel bed. 1.19

the gas being supplied through means '1. The resultant reformed gas passes through the carbureter and superheater where it may or may not be carbureted with oil supplied at 13, and from thence through the wash-box to place of storage.

At intervals, steam is passed through the fuel bed to produce water gas, reacting with the deposited excess carbon unconsumed by the air blast, maintaining the fuel bed free and open. Uprun water gas may be carbureted in its passage through the carbureter and.l superheater. Down run water gas passes from the generator through off-take 9 to place of storage. It desired, the step of water gas production may follow the air blasting operation, instead of the:

hydrocarbon fluid cracking, or cycles of air blasting and water gas production may be interposed between cycles of air blasting and hydrocarbon iluid cracking.

Instead of supplying oil to the carbureter aI tional provisions:

The connection 11 between the generator above the fuel bed and the carbureter is provided with valve 25, and an additional connection 26 is provided between the generator and the carbureter provided with the valve 27. The generator is further provided with the additional gas off -take 28, provided vith valve 29.

The method of operation described in connection with Fig. 1 may be performed by utilizing the apparatus of Fig. 2. Some modifications o f the above method are also possible in the case of the apparatus of Fig. 2.

The reformed gas produced by passing hydrocarbon gas upwardly through the fuel bed may be led directly to storage as well as the reformed gas produced in a downward passage. During such upward passage with valves 10, 25 and 27 closed, and valve 29 opened, the reformedl gas is led off through gas off -take 28 without passing' through the carbureter and superheater. The carbureter and superheater may be simultaneous 1y devoted only to the light cracking of other hydrocarbon fluid during the upward reforming run in the generator, as well as the downward. reforming run. This hydrocarbon fluid may be the same kind of hydrocarbon fluid as that introduced to the generator.

If desired, instead of employing steam to carry the oil vapors and oil gas through the carbureter and superheater to the wash-box, a small amount of gas which has been reformed in the generator may be permitted to pass from the generator through the valves 25 and 27, depending on whether the reforming passage is up or down. This small quantity of reformed gas serves to carry the oil vapors or oil gas through the carbureter and superheater .and protect it from overcracking. The remainder of the reformed gas is led off directly to the wash-box from oit-takes 28 and 9.

steaming of the fuel bed with the production of water gas may be performed as described in connection with Fig'. 1.

The improvement in general terms includes operating the generator and the heat storage vessels in series during the air blasting operation and in parallel during the hydrocarbon cracking operation or in series and parallel during the latter operation.

During the passage of hydrocarbon fluid through the fuel bed, the carbureter and superheater are devoted solely to the cracking of other hydrocarbon fluid and the capacity of the apparatus as a whole is very materially increased.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modifications may be made in details of procedure and in matters of mere form without departing from the spirit of the invention which is not limited to such matters or otherwise than the prior art and the appended claims may require.

I claim:

1. The process of making mixed water gas and oil gas, which process, when practiced in an intercommunicating generator and heat interchanger includes thel following steps: one step being, providing an ignited fuel bed in the generator, air blasting the fuel bed in the genera--l tor and the. heat interchanger in series, and burning the blast gas in the heat interchanger thereby heating said interchanger; another stepv being, simultaneously passing fluid hydrocarbon in two separate streams, one stream passing through the generator and fuel bed depositing carbon therein and the other steam passing through the heated heat interchanger, vcracking said uid hydrocarbon in said generator and in said heat interchanger, leading off the resulting gases separately from the generator and from the heat interchanger, and simultaneously introducing some of the gas from the generator to the said heat interchanger and passing it through the heat interchanger and out of the same.

2. The process of making mixed water gas and oil gas, which process, when practiced in an intercommunicating generator and heat interchanger, includesthe following steps: one step being, providing an ignited fuel bed in the generator, air blasting the fuel bed in the generator and the heat interchanger in series, and burning the blast gas in the heat interchanger thereby heating said interchanger; the second step being, simultaneously introducing a supply of oil to the generator and a supply of oil gas to the heat interchanger, simultaneously passing the resulting oil gas downwardlyl in two separate streams, one stream through the generator and fuel bed depositing carbon therein, the other stream through the heated heat interchanger cracking said oil gas in said generator and in said interchanger, and leading off the resulting oil gases separately from the generator and from the heat interchange Vessel; and a third step being, steaming the fuel bed and consuming es: cess carbon deposited therein and unconsumed by the air blast and producing water gas, carburetting the water gas with hydrocarbon in said heat interchanger; and admixing the -three newly made gases.

3. The process of making mixed water gas and oil gas, which process, when practiced in an intercommunicating generator and carburetter and superheater, includes the following steps'. one step being, providing an ignited fuel bed in the generator, air blasting the fuel bed and the carburetter and the superheater in series and burning the air blast gas in the carburetter and superheater thereby heating said carburetter andsaid superheater; the second step being, simultaneously introducing a supply of oil to the generator and a supply of oil gas to the Carburettor, simultaneously passing the resulting oil gas downwardly in two separate streams in parallel, one through the generator and the other through the heated carburetter and superheater, cracking said oil gas in said generator and in said carburetter andisuperheater, and leading oit` the newly made gases separately fromv the generator and from the superheater to storage; and another step being, generatingrwater gas by steamingthe fuel bed; and admixing the Water gas with the other gases.

4. The process of making mixed water gas and oil gas, which process, when practiced in an intercommunicating generator and carburetter and superheater, includes the following steps: one step being, providing an ignited fuel bed in the generator, air blasting the fuel bedl and the carburetter and the superheater in series, and burning the air blast gas in the carburetter and superheater thereby heating said carburetter and said superheater; another step being, simultaneouslyA introducing .a supply "of oil to the generator and a supply of oil gas to the heat interchanger,

and superheater, cracking said oil gas in said generator and in said carburetter and superheate, and leading the newly made gases separately from the generator and from the superheater to storage; and another step being generating blue water gas by steaming the fuel bed, carburetting the Water gas with hydrocarbon in the carburetter and superheater; and admlxing the carburetted water gas with the other two gases.

l5. The process of making mixed oil gas and water gas, which process, when practiced in an intercommunicating generator and carburettery and superheater, includes the following steps; one step being, providing an ignited fuel bed in the generator, air blasting the fuel bed and the vcarburetter and the superheater in series, and

er, and hydrocarbon oildownwardly through the generator in separate streams in parallel, cracking the resulting oil gas in said generator and in said carburetter and superheater, leading ofi the gases from the generator and from the superheater; and vanother step being, generating water gas by steaming the fuel bed; and admixing the oil gases and the water gas.

JOSEPH A. PERRY. v 

